PLMBS Jaguars prey on CED Titans, rule PLM intrams basketball

Lions might be the kings of the jungle, but jaguars proved to be the kings and queens of PLM basketball.

PLM Business School (PLMBS) survived tight back-to-back title faceoffs against the College of Education (CED) to reign anew in men’s basketball and flawlessly dominate its women’s division in the PLM Intramurals 2023 held at the Raja Sulayman Gym, August 10.

The PLMBS men's squad relied on their almost perfect perimeter and inside scoring to end the resistant CED’s championship hope, 77-71, and bring back the trophy to their college for two consecutive tournaments.

Led by George Edward Craw, the Jaguars took early access to the driver's seat against the Titans with their impressive performance on both ends of the court, establishing an 8-point lead at the end of the first frame, 24-16.

Craw tallied 23 points, followed by Vince Joseph Esgana and Jeshrick Renz Ocana, who contributed 18 and 10, respectively.

The Titans rallied during the second period to tame the Jaguars and cut the lead by just a single point at the end of the first half, thanks to Walliant Barren Burog’s hot hands. Christian Jacob Laher assisted Burog and sank back-to-back treys to give CED the lead at the 7-minute mark of the third frame.

Burog finished with 22 points, including four triples, and found support from John Miles Marcelino with 12 and Laher with 9, all of which came from behind the arc.

CED’s grasp of the lead did not last long, and everything went from bad to worse for the Titans after losing one of their offense providers, Marcelino, in the payoff period and unstoppable close and midrange scoring from Craw and Esgana.

The CED stalwart was called for a disqualifying foul after getting entangled and heated up with Joemylex Brent Dela Cruz of PLMBS while jostling for a rebound, effectively ejecting him out of the game.

Emotions were high during the hard-fought finals clash of men’s basketball that saw at least five players from both teams get either a technical or unsportsmanlike foul.

The Jaguars took great advantage of the situation and started to pull away from the handicapped Titans in the final minutes, despite persistent attempts from the latter to get close.

Craw’s crucial fastbreak steal in the dying seconds of the game that disrupted CED’s run, aided by their lockdown defense and championship experience, secured PLMBS their back-to-back men’s basketball titles at the intramurals.

"Ang lamang namin sa laro ay height advantage, tsaka may depensa kami tsaka shooting sa perimeter at three points kaya kami lumamang," Craw said on their advantage against the Titans.

Before facing CED, PLMBS caged the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Blue Ravens to advance to the finals, 68-43.

On the other hand, the championship clash for women’s basketball followed a similar storyline after PLMBS also found success and crushed their fated rivals from CED, with the help of their jaguar-like strength and speed, 64-52.

The more skilled Jaguars shifted to high gear in the fourth quarter to further distance themselves from the Titans, led by Kyla Ramirez, who supplied more than half of PLMBS’ points with 36, while Maria Isavel Trisha Mendoza contributed 15.

Nicole Jay Dayrit and Maycaylla Evardo powered CED’s offense with 16 and 14, respectively, but the squad ran out of gas and was unable to keep up with the Jaguars' fast-paced game.

Turnovers and missed charities also haunted the Titans, and a three-point dagger in the closing minute from Ramirez hammered the last nail in CED’s coffin, sealing the victory and the title for PLMBS.

"Dapat kapag naglalaro ka lagi kang nasa puso. Kapag nagte-training naman kami, binibigay din namin lahat yung best namin," Ramirez stated.

Ramirez and the Jaguars swept all of their games in the intramurals with a 4-0 slate.